This Saturday, September 29, is the first day of a week long celebration of our freedom to read. Throughout history, people across the globe have attempted (and in some cases succeeded) to prevent us from reading certain books. The American Library Association began Banned Books Week in an effort to celebrate the freedom to read what we want in hopes that we would never take this freedom for granted. Now, decades later, BBW has become a worldwide celebration.

To celebrate banned books week, please drop by our forum and discuss your favorite books that either have been banned or were attempted to be banned in the past. Hint: Harry Potter manages to top the list nearly every year! For a definitive list of books or to get more information on Banned Books Week, please visit the ALA website.

Please give a shout out to all our wonderful reviewers. You are what keeps us going and have let us reach an HPFF milestone. We have now logged 1,300,000 reviews!!

Dear HPFFers,
With the ever increasing size and popularity of our site, performing regular maintenance on our archive is an important part of keeping HPFF a well-oiled machine and functioning at its best. Because of this, the staff members at HPFF have decided to institute a new maintenance policy which will affect many accounts on our archive.

Regular maintenance is already carried out to remove stories without chapters. (this is the reason you may see the story count dropping from time to time)

From October 9th, unused accounts on the archive will be routinely (and permanently) deleted from our database.

Nearly all of our active members will be unaffected by this policy, as your account will NOT be deleted if you have done ANY (one or more) of the following:

- Logged in to your account within the last six months (This includes an automatic log in via the "Remember Me" feature)
- Posted a story (with or without chapters)
- Posted a review from your account
- Added a story or an author to your account's favourites.

For those of you who have an account for which you have not performed one of the above, we invite you to log in to your accounts before October 9th if you wish to keep them.

If you have any queries regarding this issue you can drop by our forums to speak with other helpful members or to our Staff.

Have you ever been working on one of your stories and suddenly felt unsure with warning to attach to what rating. Well here is a little guide to help you along your way. Please remember that fics can and will be rejected if warnings and ratings don't match.


Please remember the following explanations of ratings and warnings, from the ToS:

Mild Language: (12+, 15+, Mature)
The warning "Mild Language" can apply to all stories posted on our archive. As a guideline, Mild Language could be considered anything that is playable on a basic FM radio station. The warning "Mild Language" does not apply to the amount of language in your story. Severe/strong obscenities must always be given the warning Strong Language, even in instances of only one.

Strong Language: (15+, Mature)
The warning "Strong Language" can only apply to stories rated 15+ and Mature. The strong language warning applies to all stories containing stories with language more severe in nature. The warning "Strong Language" can also apply to stories with excessive "less severe" obscenities.

Mild Violence: (12+, 15+, Mature)
Stories with the warning "Mild Violence" may contain accidental or deliberate violence that is not so strong as to scare children. The intensity permitted varies relative to the rating applied to your story.

Strong Violence: (15+, Mature)
Stories with the warning "Strong Violence" will contain stronger or more descriptive violent scenes. Stories containing depictions of abuse, rape, suicide and self-harm must always contain the warning "Strong Violence."

Scenes of a Mild Sexual Nature: (12+, 15+, Mature)
While all stories can contain the warning, scenes of a mild sexual nature, stories rated 12+ may contain no more than non-descript kissing scenes or the non-descript reference to more explicit sexual activity. Stories rated 15+ may be slightly more descriptive but not so much as to be considered graphic.

Scenes of a Strong Sexual Nature: (15+, Mature)
Stories with the warning "Scenes of a Sexual Nature" may be more explicit but are still bound by the rating rules in the Terms of Service. They may not be considered 'too graphic" as to branch into the realm of Disallowed.

Contains Slash (Same-Sex Pairing): (12+, 15+, Mature)
While all stories may contain same sex themes, this warning has been designed to alert people who may find the material offensive before the venture into a story. This warning does not imply that there will be scenes of a sexual nature in a given story.

Substance Use or Abuse: (15+, Mature)
Stories that contain mentions of substance abuse/use, whether intentional or accidental, require this warning. It does not necessarily mean that a character will be conked out of their mind on something, the consumption of a mind-altering potion or magical berry can also result in the need for this warning.

Sensitive Topic/Issue/Theme: (12+, 15+, Mature)
This warning is one of the most commonly misunderstood. While many sites have "Kleenex" or "Tearjerker" warnings to signify depressing or "mushy" stories, our archive does not use one. Instead, Sensitive Topic/Issue/Theme refers to material that is delicate in nature. This could include a characters violent death, suicide, self-harm, rape, child abuse, etc... If your story contains any of those themes, please include this warning.

No Warnings: (12+)
No warnings means that a story requires no warnings - there is no language, etc... This is not a warning that you select when you are feeling too lazy to select the warnings that really apply.

Contains Spoilers: (12+, 15+, Mature)
Contains Spoilers refers to the content of the story and means that it contains details that might ruin the plot of a newly released book if you have yet to read it.

Due to heavy loads, the site is experiencing delayed loading and may be unavailable at certain times. If you have problems accessing the site, please try again at a later time. Our site is backed up each evening so please do not worry about your stories and/or reviews.

While no one wants this to happen (including us staffers!), occasionally you may sign on to your account and find that one of your stories has been “hidden”. What this means is that you have violated one or more of the site rules. While some violations are cause for immediate deletion (NC17, for example), normally we will hide your story to allow you time to edit it to meet the site rules. Recently, we have had several people asking how to get their story “unhidden” so here’s the scoop:

1) Know why your story was hidden. If you already know what rule(s) you violated skip to the next step. If you do not know why it was hidden and have not received a message from a staffer, contact a validator. You may reach us through the trouble tickets (the fastest response time), through the forum (second fastest) and by sending us an email through the links available on the contacts page.

2) Edit your story. Just like you would edit any story, access the story/chapter from your account page and make the necessary edits. Again, if you know where you are in violation, jus go ahead and make the changes. If you aren’t sure or want to have a staffer help you make the story compliant, contact a staffer and we’ll get you some personalized help on getting the problems fixed.

3) Resubmit the chapter to the queue. It will be validated just like any other submission you’ve ever done, being checked for any violations. If you have more changes to make, continue to resubmit chapters as you get them edited.

4) Notify the staff. This is the step most people miss and get angry with us for. Once a story has been fixed and approved through the validation process, it is still HIDDEN. Hiding stories is a completely different process that validating one. Once you have all chapters fixed, contact a staffer and let them know a) your story was hidden; b) you have made the requested changes and c) you wish it to be made visible. A staffer will double check that all requested changes were made and viola! Your hidden story will be revealed for all to read again.

Halloween is almost upon us and we are asking for your spookiest, creepiest, most Halloween-y story ever.

Rules:
1) Must be a one shot
2) Must be posted after September 7, 2007
3) Rating must be no higher than 15+
4) Deadline for entry is September 27, 2007
5) And, the obvious one, it must relate in some form or fashion to Halloween. Be creative and original!


Visit the forum to drop us a link to your completed stories (links will not be accepted by any other method). Top stories will be showcased during the month of October.

After a few hiccups, the Dobby Awards winners have finally been announced. Please offer your congratulations to our winners!

Best Humor Fic
Wanton Confessions of a Teenage With by JolieFille252

Best Novel Length
The present by timeturner

Best Romance
Arabesque by CelticKisses

Most Addicting Story
The present by timeturner

Absolute Best Make Your Jaw Drop Moment
Complicated Hexagon by Jessi_Rose

Most Convincing Ship Writer
Timeturner

Best One Shot
Dear Lord Voldemort by LostMaeblleshire

Best Post Hogwarts
The present by timeturner

Best Marauder Story
Not Fade Away by noblevyne

Best Alternate Universe (AU)
Hogwarts Sanitarium by HollyH

Best Canon
Extempore by BitterEpiphany

Most Original
Hogwarts Sanitarium by HollyH

Best Minor Character
From a Muggle’s Point of View by Pureblood Muggle

Best Reviewer
PhoenixStorm

Best Plot Twist
Dementia by Celtic Kisses

Best Original Character
The Fires Within by Violet Gryfindor

Best Trio Fic
Whenever You Remember by Jessi_Rose

Best Wielding of Genre
Arabesque by CelticKisses

Best Novella
Murder on the Hogwarts Express by Violet Gryfindor

Most Helpful Author
Bibbs

Most Dedicated Author
Timeturner

Best New Author
Majikat

Most Memorable Scene
Complicated Hexagon – Chapter 17 by Jessi_Rose

Best Graphic Artist
Violet Gryffindor

Best Collaboration
Fantastic Staff and Where to Find Them by Dumbledore's Army
Through the Looking Glass by timeturner (and many many others)